Yale Announces 2011-2012 Season

Yal Rep's 2011-2012 season will include the world premieres of Belleville by Amy Herzog and The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno; Sarah Ruhl’s new version of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters; Molière’s A Doctor in Spite of Himself, adapted by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp; and William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. A third world premiere play will be announced soon.

THREE SISTERS
By Anton ChekhovA New Version by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Les Waters
A co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre

September 16-October 8, 2011
Opening Night: September 22
University Theatre (222 York Street)

Discover the humor and heartbreak of one of the world’s greatest plays, revealed through the lyricism of two leading voices in contemporary theatre: two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl and director Les Waters, whose acclaimed collaborations include Eurydice at Yale Rep and the Tony Award-nominated In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) on Broadway.

Transplanted from their beloved Moscow to a provincial Russian town, three sisters—school teacher Olga, unhappily married Masha, idealistic Irina—yearn for the city of their childhood, where they imagine their lives will be transformed and fulfilled. Three Sisters is the portrait of a family grappling with the bittersweet distance between reality and dreams.

World PremiereBELLEVILLE By Amy Herzog
Directed by Anne Kauffman
October 21-November 12, 2011
Opening Night: October 27
Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street)

Amy Herzog, author of After the Revolution—heralded by The New York Times as “engrossing and incisive” and one of the Ten Best New Plays of 2010—makes her Yale Rep debut with Belleville. The world premiere will be directed by OBIE Award winner Anne Kauffman, who recently staged We Have Always Lived in the Castle at Yale Rep.

Young Americans Zack and Abby have the perfect ex-pat life in Paris: a funky bohemian apartment in up-and-coming Belleville; a stable marriage; and Zack’s noble mission to fight pediatric AIDS. But when Abby finds Zack at home one afternoon when he’s supposed to be at work, the questions and answers that follow shake the foundation of their seemingly beautiful life.

A DOCTOR IN SPITE OF HIMSELF
By MolièreAdapted by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp
Directed by Christopher Bayes
November 25-December 17, 2011
Opening Night: December 1
Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street)

“Playing doctor” takes on a whole new meaning as a marital squabble escalates into comic pandemonium. The spirited Martine exacts revenge on her scoundrel of a husband, Sganarelle, by convincing the town that he’s the best doctor around and that he can cure any ailment. But the trickster turns the tables on his wife—and everyone else—with his own definition of “in sickness and in health.”

Bursting with slapstick physical comedy, naughty innuendo, and irreverent hijinks, A Doctor in Spite of Himself marks the return to Yale Rep of Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp.

A NEW PLAY TO BE ANNOUNCED
February 3-25, 2012
Opening Night: February 9
Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street)

THE WINTER’S TALE
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Liz Diamond

March 16-April 7, 2012
Opening Night: March 22
University Theatre (222 York Street)

Suspicious that his wife Hermione has been unfaithful, King Leontes of Sicilia imprisons the queen, orders the death of her suspected lover, and banishes his own newborn daughter. But callous hearts are redeemed—and broken ones mended—when the abandoned orphan falls in love with a Bohemian prince. The Winter’s Tale leaps from darkest tragedy to lighthearted romance and a truly magical conclusion.

OBIE Award-winning Resident Director Liz Diamond, whose recent productions at Yale Rep include the acclaimed American premiere of Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon, delves deep into a trunk of old-fashioned stagecraft to bring to life the Bard’s surprising tale of blinding jealousy and forgiveness.

Please note: The Winter’s Tale is Yale Rep’s 2011-2012 WILL POWER! production. The run includes three 10: am performances available only to middle and high school student groups. For information on WILL POWER! performances, please contact Ruth M. Feldman at (203) 432-8425 or rm.feldman@yale.edu.

World PremiereTHE REALISTIC JONESES
By Will Eno
Directed by Sam Gold
April 20-May 12, 2012
Opening Night: April 26
Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street)

Meet Bob and Jennifer, and their new neighbors John and Sally, two suburban couples who have more in common than their identical homes and the same last name on their mailboxes.